The summer after college, I accepted a full-time staff position at a large Christian camp. I loved my co-workers and was quickly welcomed into the tight-knit "family" of staff and spouses.

One day, I made a trip to the grocery store in town with one of my male colleagues to shop for an upcoming banquet at camp. Because he and his wife were like brother and sister to me, and because we were working closely together on this event, we thought nothing of running this errand together. A few days later, however, I learned that the man had been confronted by another staff wife for spending time alone in a car with a woman. Shortly thereafter, I too was sternly reprimanded for such inappropriate behavior.

As a female leader in the predominately male world of ministry, that incident has stuck with me. Did my colleague and I commit a sin? Did we exercise poor judgment? Or was our action really a non-issue, blown out of proportion by others?

The foundational premise in Mixed Ministry is that men and ...